Raids seized the initiative while training the carrier force

In this interpretation, Japan expected Pearl Harbor to provoke an angry American advance that repeated attacks could wear down before a decisive battle near parity. That required the Americans to keep advancing despite their losses, and the initial attack to leave them the means to do so. Pearl Harbor provoked anger but disabled so much of the battle line that it also restricted politicians' ability to demand an immediate retaliatory charge. Measured carrier raids instead made Japan respond to American choices. The operations gave American carrier forces combat experience and a better understanding of their practical operating capabilities. An earlier attack would have required concentrating the available carriers, cruisers, and tankers into one force before that experience had accumulated.